Warner Robins' fourth quarter rally, late goal line stand edges Canes

Defending state champion Warner Robins came up with a five-play, goal line stand in the final minute Friday night at Weinman Stadium to knock off top-ranked Cartersville 24-17 in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

Trailing by a touchdown, Cartersville quarterback Jake Parker connected with Jacob Ray on a 44-yard pass play to move to the Demons’ 29-yard line. Runs by Paul Gamble and Amari White gave the Canes a first down at the Warner Robins 5-yard line.

After second and third down runs by White and Gamble were denied at the 1-yard line, coach Conor Foster called timeout prior to a 4th-and-goal play with 1:07 remaining.

Quarterback Jake Parker rolled to his right and threw back to an inside receiver where pass interference was called. The penalty was marked half the distance to the goal and allowed a repeat of 4th-and-goal now inside the 1-yard line.

Following another Cartersville timeout with 1:01 remaining, Warner Robins was able to deny the next rush attempt by Malachi Jefferies and held on for the seven point win.

The two teams traded possessions in the opening quarter before Warner Robins broke the ice at the 8:49 mark of the second quarter.

Demons’ quarterback Christon Lane connected with Cam Flowers on a 4th-down, 28-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 Warner Robins lead.

Cartersville answered on the Purple Hurricanes’ next possession. Parker hit Jacob Ray on a nice pass play that moved the Canes inside the Warner Robins five yard line. Two plays later, Amari White hurdled his way into the end zone from three yards out to knot the score at 7-7 with 4:39 left in the second period.

Canes’ defensive end Nasir Grandberry forced a fumble that was recovered by Chris Ryan to thwart another Warner Robins drive into the end zone just before the intermission and the two teams went to halftime tied.

After the Canes’ defense stopped the Demons’ opening drive of the second half, Cartersville running back Amari White broke free for an 83-yard jaunt to take a 14-7 lead with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Warner Robins responded, however, with a scoring drive of their own but the Canes’ defense limited the Demons to a field goal.

A pair of lengthy runs by Jafrederick Perry set up a 20-yard field goal by Daniel Barber, but Cartersville held on to a 14-10 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Parker hooked up with Colin Fletcher to move the Cartersville offense to the Warner Robins 7-yard line. Unfortunately for the locals, the drive stalled there and the Canes settled for a 24-yard field goal by Jesus Gutierrez and a 17-10 lead with 9:43 left in the game.

Warner Robins tied the score 17-17 with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Lane to Malcolm Brown with 9:19 remaining. The play was set up by a nice kickoff return by the Demons.

On their next possession, Warner Robins took the lead for the first time since late in the second quarter and set up the final goal line stand dramatics.

Jafrederick Perry converted a key 4th down with a run, then followed it with a 23-yard scamper to the Canes’ one-yard line. He scored on the next play to give the Demons a 24-17 lead with 6:44 left in the game.

Warner Robins (11-1) advances to the state quarterfinals and will travel to Jones County. The Greyhounds beat Eastside in Friday’s second round, 66-42.

Cartersville has its season end with a 10-1 record.